While big-time prospects like Trevor Bauer, Anthony Rizzo and Martin Perez got called up this week — you can find takes on those three here, here and here — these three lesser-knowns should be making their way to a ballpark near you soon.
Other than perhaps Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy, there’s maybe no pitching prospect in the minors more highly touted than Arizona’s Trevor Bauer, the third pick in last year’s draft. After being pulled from his Triple-A start following only 50 pitches on Sunday, Bauer is reportedly on his way to the bigs to start for Arizona against the Braves on Thursday, kicking off what is sure to be years of me confusing him with Diamondback rotation mate Trevor Cahill.
Bauer comes up to replace the recently disabled Joe Saunders in an Arizona rotation which is suddenly in need of help. Cahill’s been fine, and Wade Miley has been a shocking success story, but Daniel Hudson has been injured & ineffective while Ian Kennedy has been unable to recreate his magical 2011. That’s after Josh Collmenter flamed out early in the season, and with Saunders on the shelf, there’s great opportunity here for Bauer to take advantage of.
No, that’s not the name of a law firm. Rather, those are the last names of three under-the-radar pitching prospects who made their MLB debuts in the past week. Click below to take a closer look at the trio, and as a bonus you’ll get not one, but two more minor leaguers nearing the bigs.
Maybe my perception is off, but the fantasy options at third base are stacked right now. Cabrera, Wright, Longoria, Hanley Ramirez, A-Rod, Beltre, Brett Lawrie, and his teammate Jose Bautista are a formidable group. At some point in the next year or two a slew of third base prospects with huge potential will ascend to the major leagues, I’m talking about Nick Castellanos, Mike Olt and Nolan Arenado. Since I was able to see each of these guys this week there wasn’t a better time to write them up for your reading pleasure.
Let’s break from the usual three-player Mining the Minors write-ups to cover more ground (or if you prefer, more bases — this is a baseball site after all). This time, we’ll hit on three pairs, with one of each position — starting pitcher, outfielder and reliever — coming from each league.
In the original ottoneu league, the weeks following the amateur draft tend to be among the most active. As contracts are signed, draftees become roster-eligible and teams – particularly those that are out of the running for this year – begin the process of stocking their farm system with newly minted millionaires.
This year, Carlos Correa was already auctioned in that league, going for an impressive $6. Not only that, but half the league bid on him and four of the bids were for $5 or $6. All for a 17-year-old. The kid has a ton of potential, and may very well be the second coming of Alex Rodriguez. But I didn’t enter a bid.
For everything that minor league baseball lacks, and it lacks in just about everything, it makes up for with absurdly entertaining baseball. Plus, it’s the only place where one can see the mascot for the San Antonio Missions, named Ballapeno, doing the dougie. Seriously, that happened. What it doesn’t lack, however, is a slew of tomorrow’s major league stars. Last night, I tuned into the Missions taking on the Frisco Roughriders (hence the dancing jalapeno pepper) to get another look at the loaded Texas Rangers’ farm system. Today, I’ll specifically discuss 19-year-old Jurickson Profar. Why? Recently Fangraphs and ESPN conducted their second annual Franchise Player Drafts and the young shortstop was selected in both drafts. So, let’s look at Profar and then talk some fantasy baseball. Read the rest of this entry »
What do two rehabbing big leaguers and a hot shot closer-of-the-future candidate have in common? That’s right: All three are in this week’s episode of Mining the Minors.
Last summer, the Dodgers traded longtime shortstop Rafael Furcal to the Cardinals, hoping to get something out of their oft-injured star before he reached free agency. Furcal was not only a useful cog on the St. Louis march to the championship, he’s been the best shortstop in the National League so far in 2012. The Dodgers, meanwhile, were left to fill shortstop with the overmatched Dee Gordon, who is almost certainly only still in the majors because the club simply has no viable alternatives to turn to.
Yet the Dodgers didn’t come away completely empty-handed, picking up 25-year-old Alex Castellanos in exchange for Furcal. Castellanos was crushing the ball for Double-A Springfield at the time of the trade – .319/.379/.562 (.411 wOBA) – and has continued to do damage since joining the Dodger organization, putting up a .361/.465/.711 (.493 wOBA) line for Triple-A Albuquerque this year that doesn’t even feature the usual massive home/road splits you’ll generally see from Isotope players. While the hit tool seems to be for real, Castellanos has never been seen as being on the fast track to the bigs, held back by questionable place discipline (411/122 K/BB in parts of five seasons) and an uncertain future on defense, since he’s shuttled from third base to right field to second base over the last several years.
Castellanos would have almost certainly been among those called up in April as the Dodgers suffered through a variety of injuries, but a strained hamstring on April 24 sidelined him for nearly a month; now, with Matt Kemp headed back to the disabled list and Castellanos once again healthy, he’s finally received the call. It remains to be seen exactly how he fits into the lineup, since his transition to second base was reportedly going well, and the Dodgers are without regular second baseman Mark Ellis through at least the All-Star Break thanks to a serious leg injury. However, Castellanos’ move to second is still a work in progress, and manager Don Mattingly indicated that he’ll likely use Castellanos mainly as an outfielder for now, preferring to stick with Elian Herrera, Ivan De Jesus, & Jerry Hairston at second base.
After spending the majority of the week day-to-day with flu like symptoms, I mustered the energy to begin my mid-season Top Prospect List. Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of lists, as they often beget spats about order rather than rationale. Alas, we must give the people what they want! Thus far, here are some biggest risers from my pre-2012 Top 100 list and, of course, the all important rationale for their movement.
Oscar Taveras (Pre-Season Rank: 56): Oscar Taveras tore up the Midwest League. That is undeniable. But, coming into the season, some questioned if his free swinging approach would undermine his outstanding tools – myself included. I typically don’t care about a player’s walk rate prior to AA, but one’s walk rate is mutually exclusive from one’s approach to a plate appearance. Oscar Taveras doesn’t possess anything that would resemble plate discipline, but can one blame him? Previously, I’ve labeled his hit tool “uncanny,” his swing is long and unconventional but he simply does not miss the ball. Taveras has tools in spades, but it’s hard to go “all-in” on a guy with that approach. For me, he’ll have to prove at every level that his approach will not undermine his ability to make consistent quality contact. Still, I’ve got him moving all the way to my number 7 overall hitting prospect.
Mason Williams (Pre-Season Rank: 69): Just prior to creating my list Bullpen Banter colleague Al Skorupa took a scouting trip to see the Yankees’ outfielder. He followed the trip up with one my favorite pieces of the off-season, which includes enough .gifs to make your prospect-loving heart explode (and your browser too). The article started a heated e-mail exchange where I stood alone to argue that despite a small frame Williams projected to have average or above average power. Only time will tell if I was correct, but even so, Williams has an interesting fantasy profile. His speed is elite, and his ability to make contact is very strong. However, like the aforementioned Tavares, he too is a free swinger. Of course, he can’t steal first base and he doesn’t barrel balls like Tavares so his lack of discipline is slightly more worrisome. Still, Mason projects to a well above average defender with who can hit for a high average, steal a ton of bases and maybe even have surprising pop for a guy his size.
Rougned Odor (Pre-Season Rank: N/A): Unless you’re drafting based on awesome names, Odor probably isn’t selected in your league. If you don’t pick him up soon, someone else surely will because Odor is likely to be the top second baseman in the minors at year’s end. By my eye, he’s grown quite a bit and is now a very muscular young man. He’s going above average home run power for a second baseman and when I’ve seen him he’s has no problem bombing the ball the ball the opposite way. He’ll be exciting one to watch.